Pattern mechanism for circular-knitting machines



April 2, 1929. H. E. HOUSEMAN 1,707,307 PATTERN MECHANISM FOR CIRCULARKNITTING MACHINES OriginalFil 2. 1 2 I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 J7 J0 9" LL :2 oI 4o, 0, O 30 l b I.

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A ril 2, 1929. H. E. HOUSEMAN 1,707,307

PATTERN IECHANISI FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING IACHINES Original Fil 12, 1926 3Sheets-Sheet 2 April 2, 1929. H. El HOUSEMAN 1,707,307 PATTERN IECHANISIFOR CIRCULAR KNITTING IACHINES Original Filed Nov. 12, 1926 3Sheets-Sheet" 3 flare/a E lg amsemair @W luau,

Patented Apr. 2, 1929.

V v UNITED STATES HAROLD E. HOUSEMAN, OF, EDGE DELAWARE.

Original application filed November 12, 1926, Serial No. 147,889.Divided and June 26, 1928. Serial No. 288,321.

In an application filed by me November 12, 1926. Serial No. 147,889, ofwhich this is a division, cam mechanism and needles controlled therebyare adapted to so operaate as to produce, in. plated fabric containingyarns of different colors, a wide Variety of figures or designs, thesaid cam mechanism being operatively controlled by novel patternmechanism. In this parent application, the figured effects are producedby so operating certain needles at certain times as to cause them toengagethe plating yarn and not'the body yarn, thereby causing the latterto float across the fabric; the operation of the needles beingcontrolled by said cam mechanism, which is in turn controlled by saidpattern mechanism. The pattern mechanism isnot, however, limited in itsfield of use to the operation or control of any particular cammechanism; and in an application tiled by me July 29, 1927, Serial No.209,382, the said pattern mechanism has been adapted, with certaininventive modifications, to the actuation of cam mechanism which in turnoperates devices to so deflect certain needles at certain times, duringthe knitting of plated fabric, as'to cause the yarns engaged by saidneedles to be reversed in position and thereby produce reverse plating;the figured effects being thus produced by reversing the positions ofthe yarns instead of by knitting in one yarn and floating the other. Thesaid pattern mechanism .is obviously adapted to control the operation ofother mechanism cooperating in other ways in the knitting operation. Thesubject-matter of this divisional application is the said novel patternmechanism per se. Such pattern mechanism embodies also features includedin a pattern mechanism set forth in an application filed by me May 20.1926, Se rial N 0. 110,311, and is an improvement or modificationthereof and embodies substantially novel features that give the patternmechanism a different and utility.

In the parent application, of which this is a division, the novelpattern mechanism was employed to move a single needle actuating caminto a number of. different positions. In my said application Serial No.209,382, the

greater range of novel pattern mechanism was employed to PATENT OFFICE.

MOOR, DELAWARE, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD-TRUMP BROS. MACHINE COMPANY, OFWILMINGTON,

DELAWARE, A CORPORATION 0F PATTERN MECHANISM FOR cIRc ULAR KNlTTlNGMACHINES.

this application filed selectively operate a number Of different needlecontrolling cams. In the description here n the mvent-ion will beillustrated as applied to the movement of a single caminto differentoperative positions, although it should be clearly understood, from theforegoing, that the invention is not limited in its applicatlon to theactuation of any speclfic mechanism for controlling, or effecting, orcooperating in, the knitting operation.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a to which the figure embodying also a general view of some ofthe elements of my invention.

F 1g. 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of that part of the machine that embodies myinvention.

Fig. 4 is a section through Fig. 3 on the line 44, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 3, look ng in the directionof the arrow.

F lgs. 6, 7 and 8 are detail views, in different positions, of the levermechanism con-' pivoted on one arm of the bell crank and held againstadjusting screws 0 carried by said arm. Vhile spring g tends to retractlever m from screw is, it is ineffective to do so, because levers n, nand n are respectively engaged by bell crank levers r, r and 1 whichalways engage levers n, n, u", respectively. See also Figs. 48. Leversn, n, n have bevelled ends which are engaged by levers r, r and 1'respectively when cam g is in its innermost position. When any lever r,1", or r is tilted on its axis, the end contacting with itscorresponding lever n,

plan view of a knitting machine invention has been applied, the

n or n rides down beyond the bevelled face by levers t, t

of the latter and swings it and lever 07?. to retract cam g. Levers a, aand a do not have their operative faces in the same plane, but indifferent planes, so that the extentto whiclrlever m is operated dependson which of the levers n,- n and n is operated.

By means of adjusting screws 0, one for each lever 91., a, a (only twoscrews are shown), any departure from exactitude' 1n the shifting of camg to predetermined dlstances may be readily corrected.

Themovements of the holding levers r, r, 1' back and forth are limitedby a pin p extending through aligning holes in the levers.

Levers r, 1 and r are operable respectively and t pivoted between theirends on a lever and forth, by'means to be hereinafter described, asshown by the arrow, Fig. 7. Each lever t, t and t is held, normally, inthe inactive position shown in Fig. 6, against a stop 7 4; on lever bymeans of a spring w.

In Figs. 7 and 8, to avoid confusion, only two sets of levers n and n, rand r, t and t,

are shown. In Figs. at and 5, all these levers are illustrated.

Each of the levers t, 15 and t is actuated by a, selector 20, which ismovable vertically, by means to be hereinafter described, and as :shownin dotted lines in Fig. l, to selectively actuate any of said levers.

Let it be assumed that cam g is in its innermost position, andthatit isdesired to move it to another position, and that levers t, r and n arethe levers adapted to effect this shift.

Selector 20 is moved into alignment with lever t while lever 30 ismoving forward (that is, in-a downward direction in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 Inthe backward or upward movement of lever 30, lever "t contacts withselector 20 before lever 30 completes its movement, and duringthecompletion of the upward movement of lever 30, selector 20 presses levert down from its normal position (the upper dottedline position in Fig.7) to a somewhat lower position (the other dotted line position in Fig.7), during which limited downward movement of lever t it contacts withthe extreme tip of lever '2" and thereafter snaps over it; the selector20 (which is held in operative -,Spring-i.however, which is connected,as

above described, to slide 7', is stronger than spring to, and holdslever r from swinging; and lever 1 in turn, acts as a stop to preventlever 25 from being actuated by its spring w. In fact, as lever 30continues to move down,

30,which is reciprocated backv lever 1" has a cam action on lever t and,be-

fore the downward movement of lever 30 is completed, lever 25 is forcedagainst a stop 00 on lever 30. During the completion of the downwardmovement of lever 30, lever t is confined between lever 1" and stop m,and exerts a'positive cam action on lever r and tilts it down on itsaxis, as shownin Fig. 8, thereby swinging lever 02 into position toswing lever m and shaft cam g. f

It should be mentionedthat, so far'as concerns the operation of thepresent invention, spring 9, acting on lever m, merely supplements theoperation of spring 2' and may be omitted if spring 2' is made strongenough to perform the functions herein ascribed to it.

In the reverse horizontal movement of lever 30, lever t will releaselever r, and if selector 20, in the meanwhile, has been shifted,,lever twill be retracted, by its spring w, to the position shown in Fig. 6; butlever 7 will not be released, because spring 6 will exert sutficientpressure, through levers m and a, on lever 7" to hold it in its advancedposition. It is desired that lever 1" shall maintain its advancedposition until another chain of levers shall be actuated by theselector, and that lever 1 shall be retracted at the same time thatanother lever r or 1' is advancing. This is accomplished by causing anyof the levers t, t or in the movementby which it advances itscorresponding lever 9 1" or W, to

swing the other levers t and t, or If and F, or t and t into position toretract any of the levers r, r or r that may be in advanced position.

To make this operation clear, let it be assumed that lever t has beenadvanced, that 30 is in the down position (Fig. 7) that lever t is inthe'position shown in Fig. 6, that selector 20 is shifted to align withlever t, that lever 30 moves up, that lever 15 contacts with theselector and is thereby moved a short distance, that lever 30 starts tomove down, that lever t snaps over lever r, and that as lever 30completes its down movement, lever 1 is advancedall as hereinbeforeexplained. It will be observed, by reference to Fig. 6, that each levert, t, t is forked at one end thereof, that stop 10 acts to limit themove ment in one direction of levers t, t, t by contacting with thelower fork, and that on the shaft'ca-rrying levers t, 25 and t ispivotedan arm-provided with a pin a, which engages the upper fork of anyof the levers t, t, 6 that is in its'normal position. Assume that, asabove described, lever '30 is completing its downward movement and thatlever tis swinging from the position shown in Fig. 7 to that shown inFig. 8. In Fig. 7 it will be observed that thelower fork of lever t hascontacted with pin 2. Therefore, as lever t swings from the positionshown in Fig. 7 to the position shown in Fig. 8, its lower fork actuatespin a. Pin .2 contacts with the upper that is holding its of this leverhas a pin which forks of the other levers t and t and swings them intothe position inwhich lever t is shown in Fig. ris inits advancedposition, lever 16" will contact with lever ,1" and swing it into the.posltion occupied by lever 1" 1n Fig. 8, thereby causing the end oflever r to slide onto the bevelled edge of lever n at the same time thatthe end of level 1 is riding down below the bevelled edge of lever n.

Assume, however, that it is desired to shift cam g to its innermostposition. To allow this movement, selector 20 is moved out of alignmentwith all the levers t, t*, F. Inasmuch as in the next reciprocation oflever 30 none of the described sets of levers is operated, it' isobvious that the lever 7', 1" or r corresponding lever n, n, or if,would not be withdrawn from holding position unless some special meanswere pro' vided for so doing. The operation of withdrawing the lever n,n or n that is in bolding position is, in the-assumed case, performed bya special pair of levers 10 and s.

Lever 10 has the same construction and operation as any of the levers t,2, t and lever s has the same construction and operation as any of thelevers 7', 1'', 1*; but inasmuch as lever 10 is ineifective tooperateany levers carried by lever m, it is ineffective to eiiect anyshifting of cam g. However, lever s, as it moves from the positionoccupied by lever t in Fig. 7 to the position occupied by lever t inFig. 8, acts to tilt levers t, t and t and thereby effect the tilting ofanylever 1', 1" or r that is in holding engagement with itscorresponding lever n, n or n ,and thereupon spring 2' becomes effectiveto move cam g to its innermost position.

Lever 30 is actually the long arm of a bell crank lever pivotallymounted on the machine frame (see Fig. 1). The other arm rides on a cam51 on gear wheel 50, thereby, in cooperation with a spring 53, givinglever 30 the reciprocatory movement hereinbefore described. Gear wheel50 is geared one to one with the needle cylinder through an intermediategear 52. v

Reciprocating lever 30 carrles a pawl 32 (see Figs. 1, 3.and 4) thatimparts an lntermittent progressive movement to a ratchet wheel 33 onthe shaft of a pattern chain 35.

The pattern chain is provided with remov able lugs of four diflerentheights. These lugs are adapted to engage a member 41 carried on ayoke-shaped lever 42 (see Fig 4), on the end of which is mounted thepreviously described selector 20. The lever 42 is thereby moveable intofour diflerent positions, thereby causing the selector to align with anyone of the four levers t, t, 25 10.

It is obvious that by positioning the lugs on the pattern chain, theselector may be shifted to actuate any predetermined chain 8. If, asabove assumed, lever.

of levers at each course of knitting and that thereby, cam 9 maybeshifted to cause the needles to be actuated in such manner as toproduce any desired pattern.

I have not herein described the means for arresting the movement of thepattern chain during the knitting :of the heel and toe, such meansforming nopart of the present invention but being described in myapplication Serial No. 110,311'to which reference has hereinbefore beenmade.

aving now fully described'my invention, what I claim and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a circular knitting machine, in combination, sets of actuablemechanism, actuating means for the respective sets of mechanismadaptedto move them in one direction, pattern-controlled means adapted toselectively render any of said sets of mechanism effectively so movableby its actuating means, and means operable by any of said sets ofmechanism to contral the movement in the opposite direction of any otherset of mechanism that is so movable.

2. In a circular knitting machine, pattern mechanism comprising aplurality of shifting levers, mechanism which is differentially operableby the respective shiftng levers, a plurality of operating levers onefor each shiftinglever,andconnecting means operable, when any operatinglever is rendered operative, to synchronously put into operation itsshifting lever and render inoperative any other shifting lever which hadbeen previously rendered operative.

3. In a circular knitting machine, in combination, a plurality of chainsof levers, a reciprocatory member carrying the lever of each chain thatis adapted to advance a second lever of the same chain, means to actuatethe reciprocatory member, pat-terncontrolled mechanism adapted toselectively render operative the first lever of a chain, and means,operable by each of said first levers, in its movement to actuate asecond lever of the same chain, to so actuate the first levers of theother chains that any of the second levers that is advanced will beretracted by its actuating first lever.

41. In a circular knitting machine, pattern mechanism comprising a setof actuable levers, a corresponding set of actuating levers normallyinoperative to actuate their corresponding actuable levers, selectingmeans adapted to render any one of said actuating levers operative tomove its actuable lever, and connections between said actuating leverswhereby when any one is positioned by the selecting means to move itsactuable lever in one direction the other actuating levers arepositioned to move in the opposite direction any corresponding actuablelevers which are in position to 'be so moved.

corresponding rality of cha 1 the special chain of levers 5. In acircular knitting machine, pattern mechanism comprising actuable levers,a set of actuating levers, one for each of the actuable levers, adaptedto move their correspondmg actuable levers in either direction, selectmgmeans adapted to render any one of the actuating levers active to moveits correof levers adapted to actuate said mechanism to impartdifiercntial movements thereto,-another special chain of leversdisconnected from said mechanism, pat-tern means adapted to selectivelyactuate the several chains of levers, and means, operable by any of thechains of levers when so selectively actuated, to control the movementout of actuating position of any other of the first named pluins oflevers that is in actuating position. whereby the selective actuation ofrenders said mechanism inoperative by ny chain of levers.

7. In a circular knitting machine, pattern mechanism comprising areciprocating member, a set of levers carried thereby, a second set oflevers which are respectively actuable by the levers of the first set, athird set of levers which are respectively actuable by the levers ofthesecond set, the corresponding first, second and third levers ofdifferent sets constituting a chain of levers, patterncontrolledselecting means adapted to be positioned, while the reciprocatory memberis moving in one direction, to move one of the first levers toward itsactuating position, said first lever being movable, in the reversemovement of the reciprocatory member, to so actuate the second lever ofthe same chain as to effect the actuation of the third lever of the samechain.

operation and to be di'f 8. The pattern mechanism set forth in claim 7comprising also a spring tending to retract'the first lever after itrecedes from the selectingmeans during the reverse movement of thereciprocatory member, the second lever of the same chain acting as astop to prevent said retraction and moving said firstlever intoactuating position, said first leverroperati-ng, in the further reversemovement of saidreciprocatory member, to positively so actuate saidsecond lever as to effeet the actuation of the third lever of the samechain. V

9. The pattern mechanism set forth in claim 7 comprising also a cam onsaid second lever adapted to move said first lever into actuatingposition before said reverse movement of said reciprocatory member iscompleted, the further reverse movement of said reciprocatory membereffecting a positive-actuation of said secondlever by said first lever.i

10. The pattern mechanism set forth in claim 7 comprising also means,operable by said first lever, during its actuation of said second lever,to so move the first levers of the other chains that the second levercorresponding to the third lever of any other chain that is in operativeposition will be retracted from the position required to maintain thelast named third lever in operative position. i e

11. The pattern mechanism set forth in claim 7 comprising also aspecialchain of two levers corresponding respectively to the first and secondlevers of the other chains, and means, operable by the first lever ofany chain, during its actuation of the second lever of the same chain,to so move the first levers of the other chains that the second levercorresponding to the third lever of any other chain that is in operativeposition will be retracted from the position required to maintain thelast named lever in operative position. V

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, atPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, on this 13th day of June, 1928.

' HAROLD E. I-IOUSEMAN.

